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A detailed recording of the movable artefacts brought to the Museum on 5 November from the ‘Rewars’ Conservation Workshop is already underway. These include 51 objects, mainly POW identification tags, as well as a few other items, such as a wedding ring, a cross and a piece of cloth.

All the artefacts were excavated from individual graves in the Old POW Cemetery in Łambinowice, which contained the remains of Italian soldiers. Let us remind you that this activity was conducted as part of archaeological research aimed at confirming the existence and exact location of the so-called Italian quarters, and then the exhumation of the remains of 60 Italian soldiers who perished at Lamsdorf during the Second World War. All discoveries were documented, by both taking photos and descriptive writing, while the remains of the POWs were exhumed, anthropological and medical examinations were carried out on them, and then they were transported to a cemetery in Warsaw.

Thanks to the identification tags found, it might be possible to confirm the identity of some soldiers. It must be borne in mind, however, that their state of preservation, like that of the corpses, varied greatly and depended primarily on the soil conditions, which varied. Generally, however, the identification tags, made of zinc alloy, showed considerable corrosion and quite severe mechanical damage.

The purpose of the conservation treatment was to stop further deterioration of the objects, stabilise their texture and strengthen weak elements, and prepare them for a possible museum display. The treatment included: gently removing layers of rust and contamination, strengthening the texture of the objects, especially those made of paper and fabric, prevent further deterioration of metal surfaces, gluing broken elements together and removing defects. All the work was included in a detailed description of the state of the objects before and after the conservation treatment.